Athletics:David Gillick will get his indoor season up and running at Saturday's Aviva Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham where he will be joined by Derval O'Rourke with the Cork hurdler aiming to build on her recent good form.
Gillick will line out in the men’s 400 metres with the Dublin runner’s main competition set to come from Jamaica’s Ricardo Chambers and American Jamaal Torrance.
O’Rourke will go in the women’s 60m hurdles and faces the likes of Britain’s Jessica Ennis.
The Leevale athlete has one eye on next month’s World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar and is building up well to the showpiece meeting.
Earlier in the month the 28-year-old opened her indoor season by winning the women’s 60 metres hurdles at the Irish Indoor Championships at the Odyssey in Belfast. She won in a time of 8.18 seconds to land a 10th national title.
Last weekend O’Rourke added the British AAA Indoor title to her name and improved on her Belfast time by winning in Sheffield with a time of 8.11 seconds.
In all likelihood she will need to run sub-eight seconds to challenge for a medal in Doha but is certainly on the right track with part of the training focused on improving her starts in races.
The in-form Kelly Proper will compete in the women’s long jump in Birmingham, where the Waterford athlete will look to add to last week’s win in Sheffield where she jumped 6.48 metres.
Former Irish 400m record holder Karen Shinkins will act as pacemaker in the women’s mile with Kelly McNiece acting as pacemaker in the women’s two mile.
Elsewhere Brian Gregan of Clonliffe Harriers became the latest Irish athlete to achieve the qualification standard for the Doha meeting.
Gregan finished second in the men’s 400 metres (46.68 seconds) in Vienna last night, improving on his previous indoor best of 47.57 set at the Irish Indoors.
O’Rourke’s Leevale club-mate Ailis McSweeney also had a good night to finish second in the women’s 60 metres (7.43 seconds) to move second in the Irish rankings behind Claire Brady.